Editor's note: This story was originally published in February 2021.
Tucson's massive Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase recently came to a close, but that doesn't mean the shopping for rocks, gems and jewelry has to end.
Lucky for Tucsonans, the Old Pueblo is filled with year-round shops that feature everything from meteorites and rose quartz to geodes and turquoise.
Arizona Lapidary and Gem Rough
5817 E. Speedway, 520-399-6641, arizonalapidary.com
Linus and Lesli Keating dub their shop, Arizona Lapidary and Gem Rough, βTucsonβs year-round gem show.β
Their venture started on eBay in 2005 β eventually taking over a closet, leading the Keatings to open a location on Pima Street and later a larger space on Broadway. The shop now sits on Speedway.
βIβve wanted to have a gem shop since I was about 5 years old,β says Linus Keating, a University of Arizona graduate who has his doctorate in geology. βAnd Lesliβs family has a mining background, and she liked to go out digging.β
Though the shop puts an emphasis on local items such as handcrafted jewelry, Arizona Lapidary also sells rough rock that comes from all over the world. Also in the shop: cabochons, mineral specimens and a selection of metaphysical products.
βThe beauty that comes out of the Earth β itβs just astounding. Itβs amazing,β says Tucson native Lesli Keating. βWe get a lot of people who come in here, and they donβt know about rocks and theyβre just like, βWow, this comes out of the Earth? This is natural?βββ
DAH Rock Shop
3401 N. Dodge Blvd., 520-323-0781
Mike Davis took over his stepfatherβs rock shop, which has been around since 1972, about 35 years ago.
βI had no idea what rocks were when I got here. I had no idea what this was,β Davis says. βI had to study from Day 1.β
His stepfather, though, was a mining engineer and loved rocks and minerals, starting DAH Rock Shop as a hobby shop in a Quonset hut.
βIt was a hobby shop, but then I said, βCome on, letβs make it into a business,βββ Davis says, eventually expanding the shop to what it is now.
Davis, who grew up in Japan and lived in California before moving to Tucson, also changed the name of the shop β which was then called Discount Agate House. But Davis kept the acronym, which also happens to be used as βtheβ in Hawaii.
The shop feels like a mini gem show β from the pyrite and rose quartz sitting on shelves to the fossilized coral and oysters. Thereβs also jewelry, an outdoor lapidary and finds such as Himalayan salt lamps.
βWeβre really happy to be here,β Davis says. βWe know people that came here when they were small, and now they come with their kids who are small.β
Tucson Mineral and Gem World
2801 S. Kinney Road, 520-883-0682
When Richard Ratkevich was about 10 years old, his dad had a rock shop in the basement of their Long Island home.
The family eventually moved to Tucson, where Richard Ratkevichβs dad β Peter Ratkevich β opened Tucson Mineral and Gem World in what used to be a house.
Richard Ratkevich took over the family business β which has now stood for close to 60 years β about 30 years ago, after his dad died.
Richard Ratkevich says he has always had an interest in natural science β from working at a museum to digging for fossils in Wyoming as a high schooler.
βWeβve never, for any extended length of time, not been around natural science,β Richard Ratkevich says of himself and his brother.
βItβs the love of nature,β Richard Ratkevich says. βItβs fun. Youβre looking at something, and itβs real.β
Tucson Mineral and Gem World sells everything from aragonite and malachite to necklace pendants to dinosaur teeth to geodes β big and small, inexpensive and more pricy.
BeadHoliday
355 E. Fort Lowell Road, 520-696-0032, beadholiday.com
David Smith remembers his first bead experience.
βWe were poor, and (my mom) liked to travel,β says Smith, owner of bead store BeadHoliday. βWe would camp up the coast of California and go from campground to campground to campground. She had three kids with her and she had to keep us busy.
βSo we went into a bead store in like 1974,β he says. βShe probably thought, βI can keep these kids busy for like $3.ββ
Smith created a necklace with the beads he selected.
βNow, just to look back and see what I had on my neck and where itβs from and the history of it, itβs kinda like going full circle,β he says.
When Smith started selling beads 26 years ago, he traveled in a camper, selling to stores in 42 states.
βThat was pre-internet,β he says. βSo, I would stop at a library, and they would have a rack of Yellow Pages for all over the country. I would look on the map and say, βOK, Iβm headed into Georgia,β and find all the pages along my route and look up (bead stores). And I couldnβt take a picture with my cell phone, so I had to write them down, then go to a pay phone to call them.β
Smith, an Arizona native, eventually stopped traveling and decided to open a retail store. He estimates that BeadHoliday sells around 40,000 unique items from around the world, from vintage beads to beading supplies β even interesting finds like Boyz II Men pendants.
βTo me, thatβs my art β to find that amazing bead and curate this amazing collection,β Smith says.
Spirits Child Metaphysical Gift Shop
3870 W. River Road, 520-744-4402, spiritschild.com
When Aitreyia Reifsnyder opened Spirits Child in 2002, her goal was to create a space for people to get away from the world, complete with a meditation room for visitors to unwind.
Spirits Child focuses on metaphysics with an emphasis on peopleβs health and wellbeing. The shop hosts events and classes such as discussions about planetary effects on our energies, energy grids with crystals, meditation and tarot.
The shop sells crystals, jewelry, incense and other natural products.
Reifsnyder says she gets to know her vendors personally β many of which are local or small, she says.
But more than anything, Reifsnyder hopes Spirits Child is a βrespite placeβ for Tucsonans.
βTo us, itβs not about βlet me sell you something,βββ Reifsnyder says. βItβs about βhere, let me help you feel better.βββ
Aerolite Meteorites
Geoffrey Notkin has been involved in the meteorite world for about 25 years as a collector, hunter, writer and host of βMeteorite Men,β a TV show that aired on all seven continents.
It all began when Notkin was a kid in London who loved to visit a geological museum. He was fascinated by the fossils and gems, but the βwhole allure was always the meteorites,β he says.
βI found it utterly astonishing you could see β in real life β these rocks that had journeyed here from outer space,β he says. βI have always tried to share that experience with others.β
Notkin started Aerolite Meteorites in Tucson in the early 2000s as a way to generate funds to cover the costs of meteorite expeditions and research.
Aerolite Meteorites sells and trades meteorites of all types, in addition to meteorite jewelry, knives, cuff links and other finds.
βTypically, in many peopleβs minds, there is this idea that meteorites are unaffordable, and only scientists would have them,β he says. βI wanted to change that perspective.β
While the business does sell high-end meteorites, Notkin says he also wanted to offer meteorites for as low as $10.
βWhen I was a kid, I dreamed of having a meteorite β and it was not possible for me to get one,β he says. βI wanted to make the dream that I had come true for other kids.β
Notkin, who also has an art background, says he also wanted to improve the βvisual perception of the field.β
βI want to accurately present the wonder of this collectible to people and share this fascination I have in a sophisticated way,β he says.
Tucson Turquoise
3130 E. Grant Road, 520-419-1270, tucsonturquoise.com
In 1990, Dwight and Christy Schannep opened an antique shop, later attempting to join one of Tucsonβs antique malls.
βWe went to join, but there was a two-year waiting list,β Dwight Schannep says.
Instead of waiting, the couple opened an antique mall of their own β American Antique Mall.
The mall is home to Tucson Turquoise, which the Schanneps also own. The store sells all kinds of turquoise from Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Mexico. In addition to rough rock, there are cabochons and turquoise jewelry β and lots of vintage finds.
βWhen I grew up, I collected rocks, and my family always thought I was going to be a geologist,β Dwight Schannep says. βItβs kinda like gold fever. People canβt get enough of it. Iβm kinda like that with turquoise.β
Little Toro Designs
littletorodesigns.com, instagram.com/littletorodesigns
Tawney Weir started jewelry business Little Toro Designs in 2013 when local art markets opened her eyes to the βpossibilities of making a living at this craft,β she said in an email.
Weir works mostly with metal, handcrafting and selling bracelets, earrings, rings and necklaces.
βMy style of taking simple shapes but ramping the design up with size and color, I would describe as minimal maximalism,β Weir says.
Weir finds herself inspired by the desert β βI think itβs difficult to live and create here and not somehow be influenced,β she says.
βBut I also find the cultural fabric of our community to be equally inspiring,β she says, adding that modern art and design is also a source of inspiration.
Macβs Indian Jewelry
2400 E. Grant Road, 520-327-3306, macsindianjewelry.com
In the 1970s, Mac and Karen McPherson started selling Native American jewelry at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet, leading them to eventually open a brick-and-mortar shop.
The majority of the jewelry sold at Macβs Indian Jewelry is handcrafted in Arizona or New Mexico by Indigenous artists.
The jewelry selection ranges from rings and bracelets to belt buckles and watch bands. But the shop sells more earrings than anything else.
βEverywhere I go β Sedona or Scottsdale or Tucson or Tubac β Native American jewelry is everywhere,β says Mac and Karen McPhersonβs son Shane McPherson, who now owns Macβs Indian Jewelry.
βI think of the Southwest, and I think of Native American jewelry β and cactus.β